Ted Hope to give Pixel keynote

Forum is part of 53rd London Film Festival

LONDON -- New-York based veteran producer Ted Hope will deliver this year's keynote speech for the Power to the Pixel Cross-Media Forum held during the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival, organizers said Wednesday.

Hope is charged with setting the tone for the event, which is now part of the festival's annual calendar of events. Hope's credits include "21 Grams," "In The Bedroom" and "Happiness."

Hope said: "I sat for too long wondering why cinema wasn't changing and thinking about where we can take the narrative form has sometimes felt like a solitary pursuit."

Another strand of the overall event, the Pixel Pitch, reflects Hope's belief in the need for independents to seize the potential of digital means to finance, create and distribute their work.

"The Pixel Pitch demonstrates how quickly cross-media innovation has moved from futurism to a means for creative genius to reach audiences today," said Power to the Pixel's founder Liz Rosenthal. "It will show that digital means business."

Seven projects have been selected for The Pixel Pitch from 120 submissions from 14 countries. They will compete for the Babelgum Pixel Pitch nod worth £6,000, ($9,900) announced Oct. 15.